Gathering: New Year's Eve Gala

[concierge]

The annual Nexus New Year's Eve gala began at 8 in the evening. Too grand to be contained by the lobby or dining hall, the gardens at the front of the hotel were employed, with long strings of white lights forming a twinkling canopy from the front doors all the way to the hedge maze. The weather was temperate and calm, and the night perfectly clear.

Drinks were served at various bars set up throughout the gardens and lobby, with champagne cocktails being the specialty of the night. Wheeling through the crowd was a bartender with golden cart providing warm drinks on the go: Tom and Jerrys, rum punch, negus, and Irish coffee.

Crisply-dressed wait staff wove through the collected guests with an abundance of hors d'oeuvres for all different tastes. The Bistro remained open with a limited selection of items for those who were wanting something more substantial.

Above the front doors was hung a large, gold-rimmed clock counting down the last hours, minutes, and seconds of the current year.

Comments

[heir_of_durin]

He mouthed the word, as if it was a strange thing to puzzle, but nodded when she requested his presence. "Not to be confused with actual tubs, I take it," he suggested. He had learned to adapt to some of the modern culture here and it seemed they esteemed regular bathing far more than typical dwarf custom did, but he had grown to not mind -- it kept his clothing in fine shape and made his golden hair gleam all the more.

"I would be delighted to share your company," he assured with a bow of his head. "My name is Fili."

[not_lost]

"Fiona," she replied, and paused to toss Fili a smile. "I'm sure you'll agree with me that F-names are the best names." Frank notwithstanding.

"Have you been here very long?" she asked as they began wending their way toward the stairs. "Coming to the hotel, I mean."

She thought she'd seen him or someone like him before, but there were all those months when she'd been MIA, stuck back home and stewing in her misery. It was hard to say for sure even if Fili did stand out in a crowd.

[heir_of_durin]

His smile was filled with pride and warmth, offering a canted nod of his head, given that he was more than proud to stand by his name and that of his brother, of their family's legacy and honour. "I cannot lie. I've lost count of how long I've been to this strange place," Fili confessed, for he often spent time in the strange worlds and some time under the roof of the Nexus, but he had been avoiding returning to Erebor, fearful of the changes in Thorin as he was.

"I take solace in the welcome and warmth they give here," he said, with a nod of respect.

[not_lost]

"You know, that's probably the best answer I've heard to that question yet," Fiona allowed after a moment's consideration, and then peered down at Fili with interest. "I'd never thought about it quite like that, but there are definitely times when this place is a much-needed break."

Suddenly acutely aware of the length of her own legs, she found herself taking the steps more slowly than normal.

"And yeah, time is weird. It's like, do I count how long I'm back home? Because they don't always match up."

[heir_of_durin]

"If I were to, I'm sure the distance between my brother and I would grow vastly," Fili noted, though that wasn't something he wanted. He took some pride in the fact that he and Kili were so close in age, a rare thing for dwarves given the smallness of the families and the great span of years that often existed between siblings. "He, though, could use some time here. Perhaps it might temper him."

And it was not only because Fili missed him more than he could bear to speak.

[not_lost]

"Yeah? I wish I could say the same for my siblings, but they'd probably have the place burned down within the first 24 hours," Fiona replied with a faint laugh. It was an exaggeration, but not completely unfounded, particularly when it came to Carl.

"You must be close," she added, of Fili's brother.

[heir_of_durin]

"Let us not sell Kili so short," Fili remarked wryly, given that Kili could be predisposed at times to acts that were never intentionally harmful or destructive, but that had the common element of ending that way. "He is my only brother and we are of a very tightly knit family," he said, opting not to make mention of the line of Durin, not this first time.

"At times, perhaps I had wished for more, but it is rare for dwarves to have many," he explained.

[not_lost]

"I've got five, all younger than me," Fiona said as she led the way through the basement halls. "I love them all, but they're definitely a handful." Not that she could cast a stone there, what with her glass house and all.

"I'm guessing that wherever you're from is very different from where I'm from," she said, and was glad to see that when they reached the hot tubs the room was relatively deserted.

[heir_of_durin]

He could not imagine so many siblings or to be so blessed with so much family. Perhaps had Dis had so many, he would not have been as close as he had grown to Kili, which was a horrifying, terrifying thought that he dismissed entirely as quickly as it had come. "I could not imagine a world," he said, grave and honest. "And I assure you that my one brother is equal to other's three," he joked with a quirk of his lips upwards. "Perhaps our worlds are more similar than either of us know. You'll have to tell me about yours," he encouraged warmly as he approached the warmth of the tub.